Shining a Spotlight 12.13.07: Holiday Review O Rama
Posted by Michael Weyer on 12.13.2007
A look at new stuff for the holidays from new DVDs for HBK and TNA to the new Wrestlecrap book to comparing WWE's World Class disc to Heroes of World Class.
Well, with the holidays coming up, lots of new products around for wrestling fans to get a hold of. The last few weeks have seen the release of several new wrestling items that deserve attention so I thought I'd turn this into a new Review-O-Rama to examine them.
First off, another new DVD from WWE, one that ranks as one of their best yet. The Shawn Michaels Story: From Heartbreak to Triumph is the DVD showcase of HBK that's been long coming. It's actually the second major DVD release for him, the first being From the Vault back in 2003. At that time, WWE was just starting to get really serious about the huge collection of wrestling film at their disposal and starting the great DVD sets. That set was more of an anthology centered around seven key matches: A bloody Midnight Rockers/Doug Somers & Buddy Rose match from 1986; the ladder match at Wrestlemania X; the complete Iron Man match from WM XII; a battle against Kevin Nash from April '96; his wild brawl with Mankind at "Mind Games" from September '96; the first Hell in the Cell match from '97; and his comeback against HHH at SummerSlam '02.
As you can tell, that's a damn good collection and the DVD highlights each fully with Michaels doing special intros to explain what he was thinking with each match. There are also some nice extras for each chapter to enhance the collection. For example, the Rockers match has the entire "Barber Shop" segment from 1992 where Shawn attacks Marty and goes heel while the ladder match has a great video package highlighting the entire feud from Michaels being stripped of the IC title to Ramon winning it and Michaels returning to set the match up. The Iron Man match is highlighted by an in-ring interview with Shawn and Bret interrupted by Piper coming in to set up the match and you can see each man gritting their teeth paying compliments to the other. It's a great set and has long been the "if you have to get one Michaels DVD, it's this one" choice until now.
The new DVD has the documentary on Michaels' life that's been long in coming since it's a life worth showcasing. It is cool seeing him go from the slightly bland tag team wrestler in the AWA to the confident, scene-stealing icon of today. While Michaels talks a lot of himself, there's a lot of others to give him compliments, the biggest being Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, who calls the Rockers the best team he's ever wrestled. Michaels turns around to compliment them, not surprising as he had said on the Four Horsemen disc that Blanchard's cool heel act was an influence for him. It's also nice that Marty Jannetty was able to take part in it to be open about their time together and it's a little sad but still emotional to see footage of Sheri Martel taped last year talking about helping give Shawn the rub in the singles set. There's also little tidbits here and there like Patterson having to sell Vince on the Iron Man match and the full story behind Shawn being beaten by guys at a bar in '95.
What gets you about the disc is how open everyone is, especially Shawn who talks a lot of his personal problems. When he discusses being suspended in '93, he claims that it wasn't the steroids the office said as he took just about everything but those. They talk about the Kliq and their power (with HHH giving a funny alternate version of how he hooked up with them) and we get footage of the Madison Square Garden "curtain call" from '96 with Vince openly saying that HHH had to take the fall for it. They also talk about Shawn's attitude with Pat Patterson saying he was as big a jerk out of the ring as he was talented in it and Vince stating that "I took crap from Shawn I would never, ever take from anyone else, not before and not since." That really comes up with DX as they helped bring in the "death of kayfabe" mentality which Patterson hated but got the company back on top.
A big draw is the discussion of Montreal as HHH goes on record for the first time saying he was the one openly claiming they needed to get the belt off Bret by any means necessary. It does seem to put Bret in a slightly harsher light but Shawn does get the excellent point of "why does it matter what city you lose the belt in, the whole world's going to see the match on TV anyway." That leads to his injury that put him out and Shawn is really open on how he hit rock bottom wandering into a locker room high and drunk as hell and was kicked out of it which led him to turn to religion. They do highlight the Angle matches from 2005 and Chris Jericho openly talks about being such a "screaming crazy mark" for Michaels that helped their WM 19 match (although for some reason that's not collected). There are some potshots at times like Shawn discussing the match with Hogan at SummerSlam '05 that he lost and saying he was surprised at "how some of the most successful people in the business are the most insecure."
True, the DVD can do the usual "whitewash" and such (like the 2006 DX reunion being called "more sophisticated") but overall, it's incredibly in depth and not the "make Shawn look as good as possible" thing you might expect. The matches are a good collection of underrated gems like Shawn's first and third IC title victories, his rematch with Angle from Vengeance '05, the Rockers reunion from RAW of that same year and his awesome hour-long battle with Cena from earlier this year. The big one is that for the first time ever, you get the see the infamous "phantom title switch" from 1990. For those who don't know, the Rockers were going to win the tag titles from the Hart Foundation on a Saturday Night's Main Event match in October. However, the middle rope broke during it, marring the entire matchup and the horrible bout combined with backstage politics to basically pretend it all never happened. The match itself is pretty poor but it was nice to see the Rockers with the belts that had always eluded them. That alone makes the set worth getting but its powerful story and highlights of a terrific worker who's managed to rise above such physical and mental setbacks to keep entertaining seals the deal.
Most will remember last year I extolled how awesome Brian Harrison's Heroes of World Class DVD was, one of the best wrestling documentaries ever. Well, after a few delays, WWE has come out with their own DVD on it, The Tragedy and Triumph of World Class Championship Wrestling and it's not only an equally terrific effort but in some ways even better than Harrison. I always thought they'd get a fair shake as even at their height, WCCW wasn't that big a threat to Vince so he wouldn't feel the need to bury them. It helps that he talks to so many of the World Class alumni, including some who appeared on the Harrison disc like Bill Mercer and Gary Hart.
A lot of it does repeat what was on the Harrison DVD but also adds a lot on. The very beginning focuses on the birth of wrestling in Texas with old black and white footage way before the time of Fritz Von Erich. He does get a good focus along with his sons and the rest of the young talent WCCW signed. They don't delve as much into the origins of the TV show but do give credit to how it changed things with its new camera angles, sound and entrance music. While they boasted so much about the Sportatorium on the Harrison disc, here everyone admits how horribly hot it could get during the summer. But they do discuss more on how the promotion could have done monster business touring with all their coverage but Fritz wanted to stick around Dallas. Gary Hart gets stuff he didn't mention before on how he quit right after the Christmas 1982 show over money issues and was replaced by Ken Mantell who's put over by most everyone else as a great booker but Hart never quite liked him.
As I had guessed, this disc is worth the price alone to hear Michael Hayes give his take on the Freebirds-Von Erich feud. In fact, Hayes talks in a bar alongside Buddy Roberts and Jimmy Garvin who, it must be said, time has not been as kind to (the portly bald Garvin is almost unrecognizable and Roberts has to talk with a voicebox). Hayes gives props to the Von Erichs, the fans and Mantell but of course, takes a lot of the credit for making everything hot since only the Freebirds could be a challenge for the Von Erichs. He also touches on the "new Freebirds" from 1988 with Iceman Parsons teaming with Rogers and Gordy, saying "how can you have a Freebirds without Michael Hayes?" A nice surprise is that Chris Adams is given a fairer shake than you'd expect, on his in-ring abilities, not his personal attitude.
They touch on the big ones, David's death with the same noting that if he'd lived and become NWA champion, the promotion might still be around and how World Class was never the same. Flair addresses that Kerry was a good guy and decent worker but just wasn't reliable enough for the NWA to give him a lengthy run as champ. They also talk of Kerry's accident and Mike's near-death and all that but also go into what the Harrison DVD skipped, which was the last few years of the company. Jerry Lawler discusses the AWA situation and SuperClash III failing to achieve and they also touch on the "Fritz heart attack" thing which Hart and Hayes both hated as too close to home but Kevin claims Fritz was just trying to sell a rib injury after a Freebird attack and everyone else thought it was a heart attack. It goes with the disc showing what Harrison's didn't, the "blinding" of Chris Adams which Hart thought went way over the top and was reflected by Gino dying just weeks later. While you do get some conflicting opinions, everyone is pretty clear on the drug use going around while Skandor Akbar will talk on how he never actually saw anything.
They discuss the break from the NWA in much deeper terms, Hart saying he thought it was a mistake and the dwindling roster after Kerry's accident and Mike's death emphasized that. It hardly helped that after the awesome champ Rude was, Chris Adams failed to make it work and then Black Bart as a world champion was a joke, making the promotion look more second-rate. They do skip over much of the wild program leading up to the name change to USWA with Mick Foley admitting his surprise so few fans were upset at the change, emphasizing that WCCW's time was done. The disc shows Kerry in WWF which they all hoped would be a way to get him straight but it didn't work as he and Chris both committed suicide within two years of each other, and people talk of the curse but, nicely, say they want World Class remembered for the good times, not the bad.
The extras are great with classic promos and spots like Jimmy Garvin as David's valet for a day, the Dynamic Duo at a car dealership, the Freebirds talking at a house on "Badstreet" and their "Badstreet" music video and more. Surprisingly, they don't have Kerry beating Flair for the NWA title but some great matches, including the one that started the Von Erich/Freebird feud. What's surprisng is how fair it is, not as much slamming on drugs as you'd expect. I was surprised to see Flair not repeating the story of Kerry being totally stoned in one bout together but Fritz telling everyone he just had flu and they do skip over a lot of the harsher stuff Fritz did. It may not be quite as heartfelt as the Harrison DVD but is still wonderful detailing the history of a great promotion through the highs and lows, both a cautionary tale and a celebratory one that earns a place on any wrestling DVD shelf.
TNA hasn't done as much with documentary DVDs which makes The History of TNA: Year 1 so unique. As you can tell from the title, the DVD focuses on the first 12 months of TNA and how they managed to get their start. It's pretty nice that they stick with those guys from that first year, no Christian or Angle or Sting or anyone, just the guys who helped build the company up. It kicks off with a great bit, the audio check right before the first PPV where the ring had broken in a dark match and they had to rearrange things quickly. Jeff Jarrett talks about how, with WCW gone, he wanted to get a new promotion started up and everyone openly says they had to do the weekly PPVs because no one was interested in any non-WWE weekly TV show.
They chronicle things like the X Division and the tag team division (which everyone openly says was built on America's Most Wanted) along with moving to the Asylum and their partnership with Dixie Carter. In between, we get clips of various moments from that first year, big matches, title changes, Raven attacking Jeff Jarrett and more. It's good to see several of the guys like BG James being so open on figuring the company wouldn't last six months and just wanted to get some money before it went under. They do a good job focusing on the Raven-Jarrett matchup and show how there were literally a thousand extra people lined up outside wanting to get in for it. That's one of the four matches put on as extras along with the first X Division title match, AMW's first title win and a three-way ladder match.
Of course, this being TNA, it's not quite perfect. There are some politics they avoid like the whole NWA relationship and some of the talent problems. Vince Russo is notably absent, surprising as he was a big part of the company. Then again, they also totally skip over a lot of the Russo influence of those first shows like the Johnsons and the dancing cage girls. There's a lot of repetition as you get about seven different people talking about the ring break at the first PPV, each as if they're the only ones who know the story and the big voice announcing the title of each chapter is annoying. Once again, the mentality of TNA being bigger than they are comes in as they make it sound like they were pretty well off financially at the end of that first year when the truth is that four and a half years later, they still haven't turned a decent profit. And it's a bit hypocritical to talk about how great the fans at the Aslyum were when they dumped them years ago for the Impact Zone. Still, it does give insight as the company has lasted far longer than most everyone expected and I have to admit to being interested in what the DVDs for Years 2 and 3 are going to be like.
From DVDs, we move onto books with a new wrestling volume that's been long in coming, the latest from a man who just loves to show the wackier side of the business. Yes, RD Reynolds is at it again as the man behind Wrestlecrap and co-author of the brilliant Death of WCW has come out with a brand new book. The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists! (ECW Press, $19.95) is co-written by Reynolds' friend Blade Braxton and once more spotlights some of the worst antics in wrestling history. Now, if you haven't read his stuff (although you should, great writer), Reynolds can be a bit old-school. In fact, his intro talks about how dumb wrestling can be and then explains how the '89 Clash Flair-Steamboat battle is on every level a better match than the Ramon/Michaels WMX ladder match. He can keep to some odd opinions like a recent entry talking of Zach Gowen as a "can't-miss" prospect WWE blew, something I've rarely heard from others. Also, Reynolds can be a bit snide and not giving some guys a break (like HHH or Stephanie) but still has a good love of wrestling and is able to show the humor in all this. Each of his entries is covered in an air of "can you believe someone thought this would work" that helps the book along.
Reynolds admits that the book is not for one sitting, more a few laughs between things but taken in one go it's still fun. "A Question of Character" does lists on stupid names, hometowns, stereotypes, worst military-themed wrestlers, least fearsome ninjas, worst characters based on real people (sure some will be annoyed that John Morrison is on that list) and copycats. That's followed by a chapter on the worst looks with great mullets and perms followed by worst outfits, many accompanied by photos of said horrors. The next chapter looks at storylines with the worst NWO members, the worst acronyms (VKM for example), storylines that were never concluded, why religion and wrestling don't mix and more
The next one is fun with lists of best jobs for retired wrestlers, followed by the best blurbs for wrestling-related movies and movies to avoid along with the wrestlers who really need a reality show of their own. There's also a montage of the best mug shots on wrestler's arrests. The next one is fun talking about promoter stuff like storylines created just to spite someone (not surprisingly, Vince Russo makes up half the list), distasteful exploitations, most badly missed opportunities (like Spike not putting TNA on Mondays when RAW was on break), the most obscure and worst Wrestlemania celebs and the worst champions of all time. There's also the great independent gimmicks we'd never see on WWE and the 10 excuses by promoters for how bad business is followed by the things Vince loves to talk about but we never want to hear of again.
The "Porntastic World" first labels four women of wrestling who should have done Playboy followed by four who shouldn't and the wackiest of Chyna, worst drag queens, proof DX is gay, porn stars who mixed in wrestling, names that sound like porn stars and the top Diva Search rejects. The next one is my fave focusing on the actual wrestling with the most ridiculous matches and silliest maneuvers (where someone finally agrees with me on how dumb the Stroke is and that, while awesome, the Canadian Destroyer is totally unbelievable unless the other guy helps). There's also best excuses for not doing a job and matches that didn't live up to the hype. "Someone Bought This" is based on part of the website with truly amazing stuff fans bought along with the best wrestling-themed restaurants and products that should exist and the best wrestler appearances in commercials.
It all builds up to the big one, the 25 worst gimmicks of all time. As you can tell, this book is more loose and free than the first ones by Reynolds but still quite entertaining and at times laugh out loud funny. Sure, he can seem bashing WWE a lot but WCW, TNA and independents get their turn as well and he even takes it to fans at times for helping the madness along. The read can be fast but it's a great one and makes you wonder just how much time and money has been wasted over the years on such stupid things and even makes you understand why wrestling can't get respect from the mainstream. So whether you just to look at the whacky side of the business or you just like to laugh, check this one out.
So that's a pretty good set of new items for the holidays for any wrestling fan. Enjoy the good entertainment.
Also around 411mania:
Seventh Dimension continues their TNA analysis.
The Shimmy and looks at favorite RAW moments.
Thoughts from the Top Rope gets a jump on the year-end stuff and RAW's anniversary.
Piledriver Report also examines the RAW anniversary.
Don't forget Column of Honor, Fact or Fiction, 3 R's, Triple Threat, the Way I C It, Viral Dose of Reality and all the rest.
Next week I look back ten years to the show that was meant to keep WCW on top but instead began its downfall. For now, the spotlight is off.
